A Series Of Events
by Dr. Amelia Donna
Summary: The Voyager crew comes across a species that may be able to help them get home.
1. Chapter 1

A/N: This is a response to a prompt in Julia Irian's JC Catalogue. I have no idea how many chapters there will be, so keep a lookout for updates. Try to guess which prompt it is.

CHAPTER 1

The Andraaxi were a seemingly simple people. Their plain clothing and emphasis on agriculture belied the fact that were indeed a technologically advanced species. However, they preferred to maintain a simple lifestyle, using tried and true methods to manufacture supplies among other things. They stayed as true to their heritage as possible, though recognized the need to make advancement. Particularly in the medical field. The facilities were nothing short of amazing, and the Doctor relished the idea of being able work within them for the next two weeks.

While he toured the facilities, Captain Janeway and Chakotay met with Hateel Amex, the Andraaxi leader.

"It is an honor to meet you," the Hateel said, bowing his head to his visitors. "I am Hateel Amex, and this is my wife, Hateela Selene," he gestured to a young woman next him with striking violet eyes. She nodded to them, "I am pleased to make your acquaintance. We've heard many stories about you."

"Good ones, I hope," the Captain answered.

The Hateela smiled and looked to her husband. "Mostly. Fortunately our people are adept at telling fact from fiction."

"I'm glad," the Captain said.

The Hateel gestured for them follow. "Yes, in fact, we have a proposition to make." Chakotay raised an eyebrow and looked at Kathryn.

"One of our airfields for our tradeships resides in a valley approximately three of your miles from here. Our scans have indicated that there is more than enough room for your Voyager to land."

Kathryn stopped, "What exactly are you proposing?"

The Hateela spoke, "We would very much like to get to know you and your crew over the next two weeks. To do that, we ask that they all come to the surface."

"I don't know," Kathryn said looking at Chakotay, "we wouldn't want to put you out."

"You would not," the Hateel answered. "Those on your crew who wish to may take a room here. The others may continue using the arrangements they have on your ship. You do not have to do this, but it will help us come to a final decision as to what to trade with your crew."

"The crew could use some R and R, Kathryn," Chakotay commented. She smiled, "I agree, Chakotay. Hateel, if you'll send the coordinates to Voyager, my helmsman may land her immediately."

The Hateel smiled, "I will go do so. My wife will continue with you."

As he left, the three began walking back down the hall. "If you don't mind," Chakotay said, "where are we going?"

"It is our understanding that in your culture, it is not required that leaders be bonded to each other, and that you are not bonded to each other, so I must take you to two separate rooms."

"Ah, understood. Is it required to bond in your culture?"

"If you are to lead, yes. One cannot assume the title of Hateel or Hateela until after they have wed their betrothed. Those who do not, or choose not to maintain the title of Hateeli or Hateelia. It is a matter of familial succession after that, usually handed down to the next eldest heir."

"Sounds a lot like how royalty works on Earth," Kathryn said.

"I believe in your language, the titles of Hateel and Hateela would translate to King and Queen."

She stopped, "This is your room, Hateelia of Voyager, and yours across the hall, Hateeli of Voyager."

"Thank you, very much. We look forward to the rest of our stay."

"You are welcome," the Hateela began. She hesitated a moment before continuing, "My husband would likely say it is imprudent to say this, but I hope you will become Hateel and Hateela of Voyager. I can see within your eyes how much you truly care for each other."

Chakotay gave a shy grin, and Kathryn blushed. "Yes, wouldn't that be nice?" Chakotay unwittingly said outloud. Kathryn bit her lip, but said nothing.

The Hateela smiled, "I leave you to your evening."


	2. Chapter 2

Chakotay shut his door and berated himself.

'Stupid, stupid, stupid! I can't believe I said that. Gotta go slow with her, gotta go slow.'

Chakotay couldn't quite decide what was more embarrassing, the comment he just made, or when Kathryn had unknowingly proposed to him on his birthday two years ago. When they realized the mistake, she explained that although Voyager would survive if something happened to him, she wouldn't.

The admission had surprised him. After all the things they went through since arriving in the Delta Quadrant, it was losing him that threatened to break her most. He understood the feeling, he shared the same sentiments about her. But what surprised him most about this woman who was known for taking risks was when she had explained why she wouldn't risk this. She trusted him enough to tell him about something she rarely, if ever, spoke of to anybody. She had told him about how her father died, but not just her father. Her fiancee had also died in the same accident. An accident she'd also been in, but was the sole survivor of. It had eaten her up inside, and she had blamed herself for being unable to save them.

He couldn't blame her for fearing that history would repeat itself. It wasn't like she had said never, she didn't. In fact, she had told him just not while she was still responsible for his life. There was a hope there for both of them, that maybe, just maybe, there would come a time in the future when they could be together. He often sustained himself on that hope and her continued friendship. But it was times like this when he wondered if that time would ever come. They still had a long way to go before getting home. He decided to take his mind off the matter, and looking out the doors to his balcony, saw the beach and left to watch the sunset.

Kathryn hadn't been able to deny the feeling of giddiness from the schoolgirl within her about Chakotay's comment. Everything about how he'd looked at her and the way he'd said it make her go weak at the knees. If this was punishment for stranding them in the Delta Quadrant, it was an effective one. Each time something happened to make her think of the possibility of starting a relationship with him, the schoolgirl giddiness was soon overcome with the dread of something happening to him. It just wasn't fair. But as she thought about it, the comment actually began to mystify her. Over the last month, she had heard whispers of the possibility that he had started seeing Seven. Whispers that stopped the moment the whisperers realized her presence.

He wasn't moving on was he? They hadn't specifically made any promises to wait for each other, but the idea that maybe he was, and with Seven, no less, stung.

She needed to get her mind off the very idea of it. She opened the doors to a balcony overlooking a courtyard. A few people from Voyager were wondering around the courtyard, taking in its garden, and a few refreshments. She noticed Tom and B'Elanna sitting by a fountain eating a dessert that B'Elanna was certainly enjoying. She went down and joined them. "Hmm, Captain," B'Elanna said, "you have got to try this." She held a small plate with a pastry out to her.

Kathryn took it. "It smells good. What is it?"

"I think it's essentially a turnover," Tom answered, "but the fruit inside seems to be almost like a strawberry and blueberry were combined."

Kathryn took a bite. It was delicious, and surprisingly, she even finished hers and was tempted to have a second, but Tom had insisted she try the Andraaxi version of coffee instead.

She sniffed at the drink and took a sip. Heaven. It was heaven. It had Neelix's "better than coffee" substitute beat a million times over. "Tom, I can't thank you enough for introducing this me."

"Introducing what?" Chakotay asked walking up behind her.

She turned to him and showed him her cup. "This." He reached for the cup, but she quickly retracted the cup. "No way, Mister! This is mine. Get your own."

Chakotay looked at Tom, "Coffee?"

"Basically."

"Chakotay," B'Elanna said sweetly, "would you hand me one of those pastries?"

Tom's eyes widened, "B'Elanna, you've already had three!"

She elbowed him in the stomach, "Shut up, Flyboy. I'm eating for two."

Trying and failing to suppress a snicker, Chakotay gave her a pastry. "Looks like that's a couple more things to add to the trade negotiations."


	3. Chapter 3

The Doctor puttered around at Andraaxi lab reveling in the plethora of research. He spent fifteen minutes marveling at the basic properties of some fruit. It appeared that the fruit contained a previously unknown enzyme that promoted the exchange of DNA in the right environment. The Andraaxi were researching it's potential for use in fertility treatments.

He would have to come back to this. They had been here a week now, and he had just barely looked into half of the things they were researching.

He came to a table where something caught his eye. Two containment units, one housing a healthy looking tissue sample, the other, a grotesquely diseased sample. He looked closely at the diseased sample. "I know this," he breathed. He heard shuffling, and hoping it was one of the Andraaxi scientists, turned to see if the person could shed some light on the samples.

It was a young woman, her head bent down looking at the research in her hands. She was most definitely not Andraaxi, and there was no mistaking who she was. 'No,' he thought, 'I'm seeing things.'

He tapped his combadge, "Doctor to Lieutenant Torres."

"Yes, Doctor?"

"I need you to run a diagnostic on my visual processors. I seem to be seeing things."

"Okay, I'm not on the ship right now, but Vorik is. He can get you started. What kind of things are you seeing?"

Before he could answer, the woman looked up and saw him. The surprise on her gave way to a huge smile, "Schmullus!"

"Schmullus?" B'Elanna asked, "What's that?"

"You heard that?" the Doctor asked.

"Yes," B'Elanna answered slowly and deliberately, "why?"

"Maybe I don't need that diagnostic after all, Lieutenant. Doctor out." He cut her off before she could protest.

He looked at the woman and smiled warmly, "I can't believe you're here." He opened his arms to hug her. She let out a little laugh as she entered his arms.

"Likewise. I thought it was just a bunch rumors that Voyager was here. I guess they weren't! I'm so happy to see you, Schmullus."

"I'm happy to see you, too Denara. You look amazing."

She smiled, "Yes, and I have you to thank for it."

"Really?"

"Yes," she chuckled, "not long after you contacted me for help with the virus the Captain and Commander had, I went to assist with another outbreak of the Phage." She led him to an office to sit and continued explaining.

"When I got there, an Andraaxi scientist was already investigating the disease. He was quick to see that I was advanced to the point where I should've already succumbed. His interest was piqued when I told him about Voyager and the graft you gave me to keep me alive. I couldn't quite believe it when he said that his race was significantly more medically advanced than us. But he said they'd be willing to help and look into what made Klingon DNA resistant. I didn't have anything to lose, so I agreed to give a sample from the graft. It wasn't long after that that they were able to effect a vaccine, and then a cure. Most of what's left now for my people is tissue restoration. I actually just got back from treating one of our colonies."

"That is amazing. I never thought I'd see you again. I can't believe the graft helped make a cure, but here you are, living proof." She smiled and turned when a young man entered the office.

"Here's the results of the tissue restoration test, Dr. Pel," he said handing her some papers.

"Thank you, now back to your research. I'm sure it's driving you crazy to be away from it only a few minutes."

The young man smiled, "Yes, ma'am."

The young man left. Denara turned back to the Doctor. "That was Axel. He's an intern, and an ambitious one at that."

The Doctor smiled, "Really, what's he researching?"

"Actually, he's studying how to relieve, if not delay or cure dementia."

"Huh," the Doctor said, "I might just know someone who could use his expertise."


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: Well, squee! As a die hard JCer, I think fellow JCer's will probably have a similar reaction to the end of this chapter. Thanks for the reviews! Keep them coming and keep reading.

Kathryn and Chakotay were waiting in a room for the Hateel and Hateela. It was the end of their first week there, and the Hateel and Hateela were supposed to be meeting them to inform them on their final decisions for trading. All week, the Hateel and Hateela had been prompt. They were always in the room before Kathryn and Chakotay got there, but today, they were absent.

It made them both apprehensive about the decision that had been made. They'd been waiting for forty-five minutes when they finally arrived.

"My apologies for the delay," the Hateel said bowing his head. "I informed my people of my final decision and had to allay some concerns."

"We certainly don't want to cause any trouble," Kathryn started.

"You will not. My people's concern is regarding an offer I'm prepared to give you that would lessen the amount of goods to be traded."

"Lessen? There haven't been any problems have there?"

"Quite the contrary," the Hateela spoke up. "Your people have displayed exemplary conduct and trustworthiness since coming to Andraaxia."

"In fact," the Hateel began, "that is part of the reason we're offering this to you. When we asked you to land Voyager and allow us to get to know your crew, it was with the intention of determining the trustworthiness of your people. And you did not disappoint."

"No doubt prior to coming to Andraaxia you had never of us," the Hateel said, "but since coming here you have undoubtedly heard stories of how far reaching we are in this quadrant."

"Now that you mention it, I have heard a couple," Chakotay said, "but I wasn't sure what to make of them since we'd never heard of you before."

"And that is generally how we prefer it," the Hateel responded, "those who have heard of us think of us as mere legends. We have allowed few to actually meet us, and those that do are ones in need and stand out to us. They must be trustworthy, as you are. You however, stand out from the others."

"How so?" Kathryn asked.

"The others are generally ones that require medical assistance, or protection. You are quite capable of providing those things for yourselves. Your need is that of home."

"Are you saying you have a way to send us home?" Kathryn gaped.

The Hateel and Hateela smiled at each other.

"The Andraaxi are the Guardians of the Gateway. It is what your people refer to as a wormhole. It is roughly three light years from here."

"Voyager's sensors should've detected it," Chakotay said, his eyes wide.

"Our people have been guarding the Gateway for hundreds of years, and in that time, we had to conceal it."

Chakotay gaped, "How can you conceal an entire wormhole?"

"You are trustworthy people, perhaps one day we will be able to share that knowledge with you. However, once you leave here, you will again be vulnerable to Borg attack. That is information we cannot allow the Collective to gain."

"Understood."

"Understand this also," the Hateela said, "many of our people are concerned that two of your crew are former Borg. We do not believe any of your crew would willingly divulge any information about us to the Borg, but we must take precautions, nonetheless."

"Well, that we wholeheartedly understand. But we've had other opportunities come up to go home," Kathryn said, "all of which were too good to be true. There has to be a catch here."

"I do not know that I would describe it as a "catch," so much as just another bridge to cross. Obviously, the Gateway is not going to drop you off at your doorstep. It leads to the Gamma Quadrant, an area we understand to be in some dispute. However, it is ten light years from what you call the Bajoran Wormhole."

He showed them the telemetry.

"Four of our ships would escort you through our Gateway and to yours. Our ships will create a stealth sphere around Voyager to conceal it from any disputing factions in the Gamma Quadrant."

Kathryn shook her head in disbelief, "I don't know what to say, but I couldn't possibly refuse this. Thank you so much."

"You are very welcome. We will see you home in one week," the Hateel and his wife nodded to them and left.

Kathryn turn to Chakotay, "Did that just happen?"

He nodded his head and smiled, "We're going home."

She laughed, "We're going home."

They threw their arms around each and hugged each other tightly. Before they knew it, they were kissing, and honestly, they had no idea who had started it, but they didn't care. When they broke apart Chakotay looked at her, "Marry me."

She didn't hesitate, "Yes."


	5. Chapter 5

They walked arm in arm down the hall to their rooms. "I thought you might've started seeing Seven," Kathryn said somewhat bashfully. "Is that so? What made you think that?"

"It's silly really, but I kept hearing rumors, if you can call them that. Everyone would stop talking about it when they saw me, but they would say something about seeing you going to the cargo bay in your off time."

"Ahh," Chakotay was beginning to understand. "The Doctor had suggested getting to know various members of the crew better to her as a way to improve her social skills to make friends, maybe even start a relationship. I didn't realize until she said something the third time, but she was looking at me to start a relationship with. I won't lie, I was flattered, but it was a bit awkward explaining that I didn't see her that way. And to be honest, I think she's just looking for someone to fill a father figure role. She's not ready for a relationship yet."

"I'm actually really relieved to hear you say that. There are many people who just look at her and say, "Yes, please.""

He chuckled, "Well, someone else has had my attention for a long time now. Besides, anyone like that would have to go through the entire crew before getting anywhere near her." She smiled at him.

"Captain, Commander!" The Doctor was approaching them, "I'm glad I found you. Do you remember Dr. Pel?"

"Denara Pel? The Vidiian?" Kathryn asked.

"Yes."

"She's the one you got the cure for the New Earth virus from. Yes, I remember."

"Correct. She's also happens to be here on Andraaxia."

"She's here?" Chakotay asked.

"Yes, she's been working as a medical ambassador with the Andraaxi. They were able to cure the Phage."

"Hallelujah. Maybe I won't have nightmares about you euthanizing me for contracting it anymore," Kathryn muttered.

"Captain?" The Doctor looked at her with a raised eyebrow.

Kathryn looked Chakotay and the Doctor, "Oh, I said that out loud?"

Chakotay looked at her, "Yep."

"You have nightmares about me euthanizing you? Do I dare ask how that came to pass?"

"It was one of the things I saw after Chakotay and I crashed on that planet and that alien tried to take me in his matrix. Anyway, moving on."

"Right, I think we're going to come back to this Captain," the Doctor said, eliciting a groan from the Captain. "But the reason I was looking for you is because Dr. Pel made me aware of some potential treatments that I believe would be beneficial for one of the crew."

"May I ask who it is?"

"Normally I would cite doctor/parent confidentiality, but the way he's going, it won't be long before he's no longer fit for duty. I'm afraid Commander Tuvok has developed a degenerative disease. It is essentially Vulcan Alzheimer's."

Kathryn rubbed her forehead and let out a deep breathe, "I've been noticing a couple of things off with him lately."

"Yes, and were we home, a mind meld with a family member would be able to cure him, but out here, I can only delay the degradation. But the Andraaxi may have a way to stop the degradation."

"Do what you have to Doctor."

The Doctor nodded and turned to leave.

"Doctor, wait. We'll make you first to know. The Andraaxi have provided us with a way home."

"That's wonderful news."

"Yes," Chakotay said, "but please don't tell anyone yet. The Captain and I are going to make a formal announcement."

"Yes, sir."

With the Doctor gone, Chakotay and Kathryn continued to their rooms. "You really saw the Doctor euthanize you?"

Kathryn sighed, "Yes, it was rather disconcerting. I seemed to be stuck in a time loop that inevitably ended with my death."

"I can't imagine you dying, Kathryn. I don't know what I would do."

"I do." He stopped.

"The first thing you did was perform CPR, and tell me not to die and to breathe. But you cried and held me when I didn't breathe."

"You saw that?"

"Yeah, and then you held a funeral where everyone spoke. Except for you."

He grabbed her and held her, "I will make sure nothing like that ever happens."

She kissed him, "I know you won't."

"You know what," he said, "let's get our minds off this. How about a stroll through the marketplace?"

"Lead the way."

They wandered for a half hour, sampling foods, and speaking to the local vendors. As they walked, a small girl, at least six years old squeezed between their legs with a toy. She ran past them to a woman organizing a jewelry display, "Mama! Mama! Look at the toy I found. Fenna said I could have it!"

Surprisingly, the toy happened to be a wood carving of Voyager.

The woman knelt down, "That's beautiful, Arissa, but please apologize to those people for not saying Excuse me."

The girl gasped, suddenly realizing her mistake. She quickly went up them, "I'm sorry, I just got really excited. I found a toy of the ship that's visiting, and the lady whose husband made it, said I could have it."

"Is that so?" Chakotay said kneeling down to look at the toy, "You know, I thought it looked familiar. That's our ship."

The girl gaped, "You're from the ship? You have to meet, Mama!"

The woman chuckled as the girl pulled Kathryn and Chakotay over. "You'll have to forgive my daughter. She can be precocious."

Kathryn laughed, "It's quite alright. There's a little girl on our ship who is also precocious."

Chakotay looked at the jewelry on display. "This is quite beautiful. Do you have any rings?"

Kathryn playfully gave him a little shove, "That's why you wanted to come to the marketplace."

"Maybe. The food not made by Neelix or a replicator was just a bonus."

The woman chuckled, "I am Kalene, and the bundle of energy is Arissa. I have some rings right here. My husband makes them."

The array of rings were exquisite, but there was one that caught both Kathryn and Chakotay's eyes. It was relatively simple in design. The ring was made of a white metal and had a halo setting. In the center was what looked like an opal that was surrounded by stones that appeared to be some sort of diamond or white sapphire. The stones went part way down the band.

"You like that one?" Kalene asked.

"Yes, it's beautiful," Kathryn said.

"Then it is yours."

Kathryn's jaw dropped, "We couldn't possibly just take it."

"It would be an honor," Kalene began, "you see, my sister is the Hateela. She has spoken well of you to me, and I just know she would be aghast if I were to ask payment from the Hateeli and Hateelia of Voyager."

"How did you know who we were?" Chakotay asked.

Kalene chuckled and pointed to her brow.

"Oh, right," Chakotay said, "sometimes I forget it's there."

Kathryn bit her lips to keep from laughing. "Thank you," she managed.

Chakotay took the ring and slid it on Kathryn's finger. "There, it's official," he said, "and a perfect fit to boot."

"Oh, I love it," Kathryn said.

Kalene smiled, "I wish you well. The main stone is moonstone. It's said that those who possess it will receive great blessings in life."

"Thank you, so much," Kathryn said before receiving a hug good-bye from Arissa.

A/N: Well, this chapter's a might longer than the others, but the more the merrier. If you'd a better idea of the ring, this is what it looks like:

The website is called allurez. You have to type that and the .com part in front of the rest of the link.

/preset-engagement-rings/round-opal-halo-engagement-ring-14k-white-gold-1.40ct/pid/55963/591

And if you're interested in the names, Arissa is a Greek form of the name Arista, meaning best. Kalene is Hawaiian for pure, and Fenna is Irish for fair-haired.


	6. Chapter 6

After formally announcing to the majority of crew in the courtyard that they would be going home in a week, there was a sense of excited anticipation.

Harry sat at a table in the courtyard eating his lunch. He was eager to see his parents again, but he couldn't help listening to the Delaney sisters chattering next to him.

"I can't wait to see grandpa," Jenny said. Megan nodded, taking a sip of her drink, "Hmm, me either. I can't believe he's still alive! I didn't think we'd see him again."

"I know, neither did I. Ooh, but you know who I really want to see?"

"Gee, I wonder," Megan said sarcastically, "it couldn't possibly be Lucas, could it?"

Jenny stuck her tongue out at her sister, "Meanie. Anyway, he was going to propose, I'm sure of it. Flynn kept in touch with him, and he told me Lucas hasn't seen anyone seriously since we've been gone. And in our last video chat, Lucas told me he was promoted to Commander."

Megan looked thoughtful for a moment, "You know speaking of Commanders and proposals, did you see that rock the Captain was wearing?"Jenny squealed, "Oh, my gosh! Yes! You think they finally got together?"

"I'd bet my rations on it. They've been hot for each other since before they were stranded on that planet."

"Ha! Got that right! Remember that time she told the Commander she'd know where to go if she had questions about mating behavior?"

"And in front of the entire bridge crew!" Megan finished.

Jenny turned to Harry, "Hey, Harry, what do you think? Do you think the Captain and Commander have finally gotten together?"

Harry was surprised about his sudden inclusion in the conversation. "Uh," he stammered, "I thought I heard something about the Commander seeing Seven."

"Eh, I never really bought into that," Megan said, "I thought it was a bunch of bull. I mean Seven's pretty and all, but she's still so...Borg. I can't see the Commander going for that."

"I suppose you're right. We'll just have to see," he answered.

After making the announcement in the courtyard, both Kathryn and Chakotay had indulged in two pieces of Andraaxi French toast. Kathryn had suggested going to beach after so, they both went and changed.

Kathryn wore her swimsuit under her sundress. Chakotay was taking a surprisingly long time, and she was debating taking a swim without him. Just a moment later though, she saw him approaching her. He was wearing a pair of navy blue trunks and a plain white t-shirt. "Don't tell me it took you ten minutes just to put that on," she teased.

"Heh, more like one. I actually got stopped by Tom. Apparently B'Elanna had another false alarm."

"You're kidding. That kid really is as stubborn as her mother."

"Makes me wonder what our kids would be like. Stubborn and contrary? Whoo, that's one heck of a combo."

"You forgot hooked on coffee and caramel brownies," she teased, "anyway, who missed out on the pool this time?"

"Well, he's still got the rest of the day, but Mortimer Harren."

"Anyone claimed a week from now?"

"I don't think so."

"Well, have Tom put me down for one week from now. I'm betting she'll have at least two more false alarms."

"Knowing her, she probably will." He became quiet.

"What's wrong?"

"I don't want to rush this, but I've been thinking," he said, "we're going to be home in a week and I know you haven't had the best luck with engagements..."

"Chakotay, are you concerned about the former Maquis?"

"Yeah, I guess so."

"I spoke with Admiral Paris. He and Admiral Nechayev have personally gone over the records of all the former Maquis. He is confident you will all be pardoned."

He smiled, "That's a relief, but I'm not sure I'll actually believe it until I see it. The fact is, if the worst were to happen, and we weren't pardoned, I would rather spend the rest of this week with you as husband and wife than wait until we get home only to find out we weren't pardoned."

She put a hand on his cheek, "Ok."

"Thank you."

She smiled, "Well, I don't really want wait either, but my only stipulation is that we wait until tomorrow evening. I want to keep this between us a while longer. We can have a formal ceremony for the crew and our families after we get home."

He kissed her, "I'll go speak to the Hateel about it."

Kathryn's combadge chirped, "Doctor to Janeway."

"Yes, Doctor," she answered.

"Would you and the Commander meet me at the medical facility to discuss what I spoke to you about this morning?"

"Of course. The Commander has something to attend to first, he'll be a couple of minutes, but I'm on my way right now."

"Understood. Doctor out."

"I'll see you in a few minutes, then," Chakotay said.

They stood from their spot in the sand and kissed each other's cheeks.


	7. Chapter 7

"Doctor?" Janeway said.

The Doctor turned from speaking to a young man. "Ah, Captain, this is Axel," he gestured to the young man, "he's the one who's been developing the treatment."

"A pleasure to meet you," Axel said nodding his head.

"Likewise," Janeway replied, "my Doctor tells me you may have a way to help Tuvok."

"Yes. I've been reviewing Mr. Tuvok's medical file with your Doctor. He is a perfect candidate for the treatment."

"What does the treatment do?" Janeway asked.

"It's difficult to explain without getting too technical, but the simplest way I can think of describing it is that it targets the degrading cells and cells causing degradation and essentially puts them in statis. It's taken quite a bit of tweaking, but we've developed a way for it to work without impeding other necessary functions."

Chakotay came up and put a hand on Kathryn's back, "Sorry, I'm late."

Axel nodded to him, "No apologies necessary. I understand you had something to attend to prior to coming here."

"How long will this treatment last?" Janeway asked.

"Unfortunately, it's only a stopgap measure. He would require biweekly, if not weekly doses, and would eventually build up a tolerance to the treatment. But your Doctor tells me the Hateel had granted you passage through the Gateway to get home, and that Mr. Tuvok's people are capable of curing it. He should only need a few doses prior to being cared for by his people."

"That's fantastic," Chakotay said.

"We can begin the treatments immediately," Axel said, "the Doctor and I have already explained it to Mr. Tuvok."

"We'll leave you to it," Chakotay said.

They exited the building. "So what did the Hateel say?" Kathryn asked.

"He is more than willing to officiate, and since we want privacy, we can do it in their private garden. They even have someone that can take holoimages. And I told him that we'd be honored if Arissa were there.

"Kathryn smiled, "I can't wait."

"This coming from the woman who said to wait," Chakotay said laughing.

"Hey, I've got to go up to Voyager and replicate a dress and figure out how to do my hair."

"You can do your hair when it's this short?"

"Yes, it's possible, and you should figure out what you're going to wear, too."

"I think I know. I just hope I remember how to tie a tie. Oh, and I know what I want for the wedding bands. I'm going to surprise you, though."

They beamed up to the ship. Chakotay went to his room to enter the specifications for the rings into the replicator.

Kathryn perused a catalogue of dresses for a couple of hours. She had only two requirements: simple and elegant.

There were plenty of dresses, but she had yet to find one that really stood out to her. She took a break to take a bath.

It turned out to be just what she needed. She came out of her bathroom feeling refreshed and ready to look at more dresses. A half hour later she'd finally found the dress and replicated it. She tried it on. She would have to ask Kalene to help her do the back, but it was perfect. She ordered a site-to-site transport back to her room on the planet. Now she just had to wait.

The rest of the day and next seemed to drag on until it was actually time to get ready. Kalene had shown her to a room just off the garden where she could get ready.

Chakotay wore a simple black suit with dress shoes. He waited nervously with the Hateel and Arissa.

"What is she going to wear?" Arissa asked.

"I don't know," Chakotay said, "all I know is that it'll be a white dress. But I don't know what it'll look like."

"Will it be pretty?"

"I'm sure of it."

The Hateela and Kalene came out of the room.

'Showtime,' Chakotay thought.

Kathryn came out of the room. Chakotay and Arissa looked at her in awe. It was a simple floor length dress with lacy appliques, and her hair was pulled up in a French twist that was accented with some flowers. She was stunning.

Before he knew it, it was time to put the rings on. They were silver bands with three interlinked circles engraved on them, and a diamond in the center of each circle.

Until this point, Kathryn had managed to keep a dry eye, but once she saw the rings, her tear ducts betrayed her.

And then they kissed.

Some hugs and a few pictures later, they were ready to go back to their room.

"There is a back hallway you may use," the Hateela said, "you will not be seen."

They made it back to their room, the one Chakotay had been using until now.

"I can't believe we just did that," Kathryn said, giggling through a few stray tears.

"These rings are perfect. Thank you, Chakotay."

He kissed her. She smiled at him, "I kind of wish we had some cake now."

He shrugged, "Oh, well. I have some fruit B'Elanna was raving about. We can have that."

They ate the fruit and began their honeymoon.

A/N: For anyone who wants to check out what the rings and dress look like:

The rings are at helzberg. com item number 1998800. In my mind, the rings are a bit smaller, and don't have a concave exterior. They also have the engraved circles which came from Kirsten Beyer's short story, Isabo's Shirt.

The dress is at ericdress. com item number 11681444.


	8. Chapter 8

54973.4

(December 22, 2377)

PERSONAL LOG

KATHRYN JANEWAY

As promised, the Andraaxi escorted us to the Gateway early today. They have a relay station for the Gateway in Gamma Quadrant. They have given us the necessary comm frequencies to contact them through the Bajoran Wormhole.

I'm sure Starfleet will want to know as much as possible about them, but the Andraaxi did not show us anymore than necessary. We have to respect their desire to remain largely inconspicuous. They have however, expressed a desire to come to the Alpha Quadrant in the future.

Young Mr. Axel is certainly eager to study Vulcan physiology in much more depth.

As for Voyager, we are now back in the Alpha Quadrant. We surprised DS9, they weren't sure who to expect through the wormhole, but were pleasantly surprised by Voyager.

Our families have been notified, and the space station has been inundated with comm traffic, mostly from Earth. Dr. Bashir has cleared the all of the crew. Except for three, as of yet. Apparently I won that pool, and B'Elanna gave birth just a short while ago on Voyager.

Once they're cleared, Voyager is to go Utopia Planetia, where it will be temporarily decommissioned for a complete maintenance overhaul. As for the crew we've been granted extended leave pending full psych evaluations. The crew has also readily accepted the change in my relationship with Chakotay. I wonder what Mom and Phoebe will say.

END LOG

"Hey," Chakotay said, as he came up behind Kathryn and began massaging her shoulders.

"Hmm, that feels good," she mumbled. He leaned down and kissed her cheek, "The Doctor just called. We can go see B'Elanna now."

She smiled at him, "Then let's go."

When they got there, Dr. Bashir was just finishing clearing the Paris family.

"Captain, Commander," he said, "they're good to go. Your EMH did a phenomenal job."

"Thank you, Doctor," Kathryn said.

She and Chakotay approached the right side on B'Elanna's bed. On the other side, Tom was looking at the newborn his wife held. He was oblivious to the arrival of the Captain and Commander.

B'Elanna looked at them and smiled, "Thanks for coming."

"Oh, we wouldn't have missed this for the world," Chakotay said.

Tom, having finally noticed the Captain and Commander, looked at them and proudly said, "This is Miral Kathryn Paris."

Kathryn smiled, and looked at the baby, "Well, hello there little one. You have no idea how happy I am to share my name with you."

The barely awake baby reached for finger gently touching her cheek and wrapped her fingers around it.

"I think she likes you, Captain," Tom mused.

"Yes, I think we're going to be good friends."

TWO DAYS LATER

Chakotay and Kathryn stood outside the door of Gretchen Janeway's house in Indiana. The door flew open revealing Phoebe.

"Katie!" she squealed, throwing herself on Kathryn.

"Ack! Phoebe!" Kathryn gasped, "I can't breathe!"

Phoebe giggled, "Oops."

She looked at Chakotay, "Well, well, I I see you brought the hunk."

"Phoebe," Kathryn warned.

"What? Just an observation," she turned to Chakotay, "Nice to meet you. I understand you're the one that kept my sister out of trouble for seven years."

"Heh," Chakotay said pulling at his ear, "I don't know that I'd go so far as to say that. There were plenty of tough scrapes out there."

"Figures," Phoebe snorted, "Katie was always really good at finding trouble. Well, come on in, it's cold out and Mom'll have my head."

"Where is Mom, anyway?" Kathryn asked. The question was answered when she entered the house. "Forget I asked, I'd know that smell anywhere."Chakotay followed Phoebe and Kathryn to the kitchen where Gretchen Janeway was taking a fresh batch of caramel brownies out of the oven.

Kathryn inhaled deeply, "I cannot wait to have one."

Gretchen turned and smiled at her daughter. "Well, it's about time you got here. You're seven years late, young lady. Now get over here and give your old mom a hug."

Kathryn acquiesced. "Hmm, my baby's home."

"I missed you, too Mom."

Gretchen let her daughter go and looked at Chakotay. She held a hand out that he firmly shook.

"A pleasure to meet you in person. You look much better than you did on that little screen."

Chakotay chuckled, "Nice to meet you, too."

Phoebe sat at the table. "So, Katie, what this rumor I heard about Voyager's Captain marrying her XO?"

"Subtle, Phoebe, subtle," Kathryn said taking her gloves off. She showed the rings to Phoebe.

"They're gorgeous! Mom, look."

"I see. They're quite stunning. Welcome to the family, young man. There's hope for grandchildren yet."

"Mom!" Kathryn exclaimed.

"What? I'm old. I need munchkins to spoil," Gretchen answered.

Chakotay smiled, but didn't say anything. To be honest, he couldn't wait to have little Kathryn's and Chakotay's running around either.


	9. Chapter 9

With nothing to do for the foreseeable future, Kathryn and Chakotay decided have a formal wedding ceremony for the Voyager crew and family as soon as possible. They were able announce it at the Welcome Home Banquet, much to the delight of the crew, and a certain Captain's assistant.

They were quite surprised afterwards when some of the crew received promotions. A few Ensigns, including Harry, were promoted to Lieutenant. Tom and B'Elanna both became Lieutenant Commanders, and astonishingly to herself and Chakotay, they had been promoted to Admiral and Captain, respectively.

That had been five weeks ago. Briefings had been over fairly quickly, as resources had to go towards the rebuilding efforts that resulted from the Dominion War. There had a been a few inquiries into some of her more...questionable decisions, but for all intents and purposes, she got off with a slap to wrist.

The only other thing in question was when exactly the status of her relationship with Chakotay changed. But the Doctor was able to provide medical proof, and the entire crew attested to the fact that the command team's relationship remained professional, and only changed after they were certain about going home.

Chakotay had looked into homes in Bloomington and found a nice one not too far from Gretchen's. They moved in within a couple of days.

The formal ceremony had come together quickly, too, and had taken place the night before. Kathryn was quite happy when Phoebe gifted them with a painting of their wedding in the Andraaxi garden.

With the last few weeks behind her, Kathryn finally had some time to sit back and relax. She also realized that she was feeling pretty crummy. It'd come and go over the last couple days. She figured it was probably seven years of being in the Delta Quadrant sneaking up on her.

Kathryn was over at her mother's, while Chakotay worked on a project at home. One that he annoyingly wouldn't tell her anything about.

'Better be as good as the tub from New Earth,' she thought. Mark had brought Molly over earlier in the day, and the two now snuggled on the couch.

Kathryn had actually started dozing off when mother came into the room with some coffee.

She raised an eyebrow, "Katie, you feeling ok?"

"Huh?"

Gretchen rolled her eyes and put a cold hand on her daughter's forehead.

"Ah! Your hand is freezing!" Kathryn yelped.

Her mother snorted, "Well, at least you don't have a fever. Here, I brought you some coffee."

Kathryn looked at coffee and started feeling queasy. "Uh, you know," she said, "I think I'll pass for once."

Gretchen raised an eyebrow again. Kathryn had shut her eyes again. Gretchen decided to test a theory. She held the pot near Kathryn's nose, close enough that Kathryn would get a good whiff.

Kathryn bolted upward gagging and reached for a glass of water.

"Mm-hmm," Gretchen said, "just as I suspected."

Kathryn glared at her, "Suspected what? Why did you do that?"

"Katie, you have never turned down coffee unless you were truly sick. You don't have a fever, so the only reason I can think of that coffee would make you sick to your stomach is that I'm going to be a grandmother."

Kathryn stared at her mother in disbelief, "You're kidding, right?"

Gretchen shook her head.

"Mom everyone on Voyager was required to maintain their boosters regardless of whether they on intimate terms with someone or not. Especially after one particularly bizarre incident, no one was allowed to let it slip."

Gretchen brought the pot of coffee back over, making Kathryn gag again. "Mom! Quit that!"

"Go. See. A. Doctor."

"If it'll keep you from putting that in my face again, gladly," Kathryn huffed.

Kathryn beamed to Starfleet Medical met with the Doctor.

"Ah, Admiral," he said, "just who I wanted to see."

They entered his office, "You haven't seen Seven have you? She was supposed to come in for some routine maintenance, but she never showed."

"No, Doctor, I'm sorry," she answered.

"Hmm, I'll have to ask around some more. What can I do for you?"

"I need you to scan me."

"You're willingly asking me to perform a medical scan? I'm not sure if I should be concerned or amazed."

Kathryn rolled her eyes, "My mother has got it in her head that I'm pregnant because coffee made me sick."

"Well, it certainly screams something's up," he said getting his tricorder.

He scanned her midsection, "Hmm, looks like your mother was right, Admiral."

Kathryn looked at him incredulously.

"There'll be two new bouncing Captains here in seven and a half months."

"Beg pardon?"


	10. Chapter 10

"I'm sorry, Doctor, I thought you just said something about twins in seven months?"

"That's correct, Admiral," he said, "you're seven weeks pregnant."

"That's not possible."

"Well, my tricorder says differently, you are most definitely pregnant."

"That is not possible!" she said agitatedly.

He led her to a chair, "Admiral, calm down. Why is it impossible?"

Kathryn took a deep breath, "Seven weeks ago, we were still on Andraaxia. Chakotay and I weren't intimate until after we married, and we certainly weren't trying for a family from the get go. We were both on our boosters."

"Hmm," the Doctor said thoughtfully, "it's quite rare for boosters to fail when both parties are up to date. I suspect there may be another reason for your unexpected pregnancy?"

"What?"

"Tell me, did you Chakotay have any of a local fruit the size of a cherry? It would've had an outward appearance of pomegranate, but the texture of a peach when the skin was peeled back."

Kathryn blinked, "Um, yes, actually. On our wedding night. Chakotay had gotten some from B'Elanna, she'd been going on about them."

"The Andraaxi have actually been studying the fruit. I was able to learn a little about it. The fruit apparently produces an enzyme that reacts with the chemicals produced in a body during intimacy to promote the exchange of DNA. It would also have counteracted anything in your body designed to inhibit the exchange of DNA. Since B'Elanna was already pregnant, I suspect those enzymes might've had an aphrodisiac effect on her."

Kathryn rubbed at her eyes, "Wow, I wish someone had informed us of this fruit before anyone had some."

"The Andraaxi are still in the early stages of research, so no formal regulations for the fruit have been made yet. Much of what I told you is speculation at this point."

Kathryn sighed, "Well, what's done is done. It's a lot to take in, but thank you, Doctor."

"You're welcome, Admiral," he went to his desk and pulled a couple of things out of a drawer.

Handing them to her he said, "This is a little something to relieve any particularly bad morning sickness, and some prenatal vitamins."

Kathryn nodded and got up to leave.

"Admiral," the Doctor said, she turned back to him, "congratulations."

"Thank you."

Frankly, Kathryn was in a daze. This was completely unexpected, but not unwanted. In fact, after her initial panic, she was actually kind of excited.

The biggest question on her mind now was how to tell Chakotay. She didn't want to make a big a deal out it. 'Something simple,' she thought. Maybe she'd get a couple of onesies that said, "Daddy's #1 Fans!" Or maybe she would just outright tell him, that lacked a bit of pizzazz, though. The onesies would be fun just to see how long it took him to realize what "Fans" meant.

She went home and replicated two yellow onesies. As she finished replicating them, she heard a muffled clatter come from their room upstairs.

She heard Chakotay muttering on the other side of the door as she went up the stairs.

"Ow, ow, ow..."

She snickered, "Uh, Chakotay? You okay?"

He opened the door, "Kathryn? I didn't hear you come in."

She hid the onesies behind her back before he could see them. "I've only been back a few minutes," she answered, "what happened?"

He still stood in front of the doorway, so she couldn't see in the room. He looked at his foot and pointed to it, "I stubbed my toe."

"Ahh, what were you doing that you stubbed it?"

"I've been putting the final touches on my project."

"In our bedroom?"

He stepped aside so that she could look in the room. Where their old metal frame bed once stood was a simply but beautifully crafted wooden bed frame.

She gasped, "It's beautiful."

"I knew you'd like," he said, "it's reclaimed mahogany."

She turned, keeping one hand behind her back. She reached up and kissed him. A tear ran down her cheek.

"If you happen to have any of that wood left," she said, "could I trouble you to make a couple more things?"

He smiled, "Anything."

She put the onesies in his hands. He opened them and softly read what was on them, "Daddy's #1 Fans."

His jaw dropped and he looked at her, "You're kidding?" He gradually began to smile, "How?"

"Apparently that fruit we ate on our wedding night is some powerful booster neutralizing stuff."

He let out a laugh, "Of all the ironies, a little fruit led to you getting pregnant."

He looked back down at the onesies, "Wait a minute. This says "Fans.""

She sat down on the bed. He looked at her, "Are we having twins?"

"Ding, ding, ding!"

He sat next to her and held her.


	11. Chapter 11

The next few days passed with relative ease. Kathryn had had some more morning sickness, but nothing so bad she felt the need to take what the Doctor had given her.

Chakotay had eagerly begun designing cradles. He would need to get some more wood, but that wasn't a problem.

Gretchen had been elated to find out she had been right. Although, the word, "twins" had thrown her for a loop.

They hadn't told anyone else yet. Kathryn would begin showing before long anyway. There were a few they would have to tell; Phoebe, for instance. They would never live it down if they told anyone else first.

The comm line chirped while Chakotay was finishing his designs for the cradles. He answered it only to see Admiral Paris looking back him. He didn't appear to have good news either.

"Admiral."

"Captain," the Admiral began, "I'm afraid have some bad news."

A wave of concern washed over Chakotay's face and he let our a deep breath.

"I assure you, Captain, it's not to do with the Maquis," the Admiral said, "all official pardons have come through."

Chakotay was relieved about that. Certainly he wouldn't have been promoted to Captain if he hadn't been pardoned, but others from the Voyager crew were in limbo waiting for their pardons.

"Well, I hate to ask then, but what's the bad news, sir?"

"Seven of Nine was abducted by Admiral Brenna Covington."

"What? Why?"

"We don't know her motivates yet, but she is working with the Borg. What we do know is that she intends to deliver Seven of Nine to the Borg Queen."

The Admiral hesitated a moment, "Evidently, you and Admiral Janeway had a knack for pissing off the Borg in the Delta Quadrant. They want to use Seven of Nine as leverage to get Admiral Janeway."

Chakotay rubbed his face, "Is there a plan of action, sir?"

"I'm afraid not," the Admiral Paris replied. "Command is stretched to the limits, and there are still quite a few who don't trust Seven of Nine that believe bygones should be bygones."

"Cowards," Chakotay said tersely.

"Yes, well, that's why I called you."

"Admiral, I sincerely hope you're not going to suggest Kathryn get involved in this."

To his credit, the Admiral shook his head. "Voyager's EMH has already informed me of her condition. Were circumstances different, I believe we could've used her expertise, but as it is, I don't think she should be directly involved."

"So, what happens now? We can't just abandon Seven. I don't expect the Borg will do anything to her as long as they think they can get Kathryn through her, but if we just sit back and do nothing, they'll assimilate her back into the Collective."

"Yes, and the whether Starfleet wants to admit it or not, Seven of Nine represents a huge home field advantage for us against the Borg. That's not something we can just let idly slip away."

"What do have in mind?"

"Nothing can be done on an official front, but you and the rest of the Voyager crew are still on extended leave. Covington wanted us to knew exactly where she would be taking Seven."

"Where is that?"

"Right back to your old playing ground. The Delta Quadrant. Look, I've spoken to Tom and Commander Tuvok already. They are both willing to contact the Andraaxi for safe passage back to the Delta Quadrant to mount a rescue mission. You don't have to say yes."

Chakotay sighed, "Yes, I do. Kathryn would never forgive me for knowing there was something I could and then not doing it."

The Admiral nodded, "We have to keep this small. Once the three of you are back in the Delta Quadrant, you'll be on your own unless the Andraaxi are willing to assist further."

"Understood, but I have one condition."

"Go on."

"You, B'Elanna, Gretchen, and Phoebe, all of you, stay with Kathryn 24/7. You make sure she doesn't get anywhere near a shuttle and launch her own rescue mission."

"You have my word, Captain. Leave as soon as possible, you'll be meeting Tom and Tuvok at DS9."

They disconnected. Chakotay sighed and looked at his plans for the cradles. They were going to have to wait. Chakotay really wished the Borg would kick the proverbial bucket already. He quietly walked up the stairs to their bedroom. Kathryn was sound asleep.

She'd taken to taking naps over the last few days. Had her mother not noticed something was up, Chakotay would've. Kathryn wasn't exactly one for taking naps. He knelt on the bed and leaned over to kiss her cheek.

"Hmm, Chakotay?" she murmured.

"Hello, beautiful, I have something to tell you. I don't think you're going to like it."

"Oh, really? You didn't lose your ring did you?"

"Heh, no," he answered, "I just finished speaking to Admiral Paris. He needs me to go take care of something at DS9."

"How long will you be gone?"

"I'm not sure, but I'll hurry home."

"You'd better," she said, "those cradles aren't going to make themselves."

He smiled, "No, they aren't. Go back to sleep. I've got to pack."

He leaned over and kissed her again, "I love you."

"And I love you."

A/N: Oh, I'm evil. I've made the Borg rain on their parade. Thanks to everyone who's reading and reviewing. I appreciate it. I hope you like this plot twist, it's been pretty much rainbows and sunshine, I had to throw a wrench in there. But don't worry, things will work out.


	12. Chapter 12

To say Kathryn was livid was an understatement. She was downright pissed off. Her gut had told her that there was more to it when Chakotay said there was something to take "care of," at DS9. But she'd let it go, deciding she didn't need to know right away.

It didn't take long for her to wish she'd insisted Chakotay tell her what was going on. The next day, Owen had dropped by. She had the distinct feeling there was something on his mind, and whatever it was was nagging him, but he kept it to himself.

Over the next two days, her mother and sister had both hovered over her, trying to be nonchalant, but failing miserably. B'Elanna had come by the fourth day. She'd claimed she was just checking up on Kathryn, seeing how things were going. Kathryn didn't doubt that, it was the coincidence that all four people had done their level best to make sure Kathryn was rarely alone since Chakotay left.

After B'Elanna left, Kathryn immediately beamed over to Starfleet Command.

Barging into his office she said, "Owen, tell me what's going on. Now!"

He looked up from his PADD, but didn't say anything.

"I'm not stupid, Owen," she said, "there is something going on and it involves Chakotay."

He sighed, "What exactly did he tell you before he left?"

"Just that there was something you needed him to take care of at DS9."

"All right," he said, "what he decided to tell you was up to him. Given the circumstances, I can understand why he didn't tell you the whole truth."

He explained the situation.

Kathryn's jaw dropped, "And no one thought to tell me?"

"Kathryn, you and I both know that had you been told, you would've gotten your hands on the first shuttle you could and gone out there yourself."

"Oh, spare me, Owen! At least afford me the dignity of being able to realize the situation and know my limits."

"Katie, can you honestly tell me that's not what you would've done?"

"You're absolutely right, it would've been my first instinct, but I have other priorities now, and I am quite cognizant of the fact that they need to come first now."

He sighed, "Kathryn, I'm sorry. I know you're angry, but you have to look at this from Chakotay's perspective. He's spent the last seven years watching you captain Voyager and always putting the needs of your crew first. Now that you're home and he has you, he's afraid to lose you in a completely different way than when you were out there."

"He's afraid to lose me the way I lost Daddy and Justin," she sighed, "I understand. But that's a two-way street, Owen."

"Katie, if there is one thing I learned from going over Voyager's logs, it's that your crew was tenacious. They'll get through this and come back home."

"I hope so. I don't know how I would pick up the pieces if they didn't."

"Kathryn, why don't you go see B'Elanna? She's in the same boat, it might help."

"I think I might just do that."

She left the office and went home. She would go see B'Elanna later, right now, she needed to relax. A bath would do the trick, a nap wouldn't hurt either. She was finding herself increasingly fond of these naps.

As she walked up the sidewalk towards the house she noticed Phoebe in the porch peering in through a window.

"You know, it's usually considered rude to peek through people's windows."

Phoebe startled and turned around, "Katie! I just came to see if you wanted to go out to lunch. There's a new bistro you might like."

"Thanks, but I just got back from talking to Admiral Paris. I thought I'd take a load off."

"Oh, well maybe, another time then."

"Of course, but you're welcome to stick around and have some lunch here."

"As long as you're not cooking," Phoebe teased.

Kathryn rolled her eyes, "We are children of the twenty-fourth century, Phoebe. We have replicators."

"In that case, lead the way."


	13. Chapter 13

Kathryn took a bite of her macaroni and cheese. "Hmm, yep," she said, "this macaroni and cheese and I are going to become good friends."

Phoebe nodded appreciatively after taking a bite of hers.

"Phoebe, just how much did you and mom know about what going on?"

"Honestly, not much," Phoebe answered, "Owen called and told us Chakotay was leaving immediately for a high risk rescue mission. He didn't tell us anything beyond that, other than Chakotay wanted us to keep eagle eyes on you."

"Well, that doesn't surprise me. I was just wondering if Chakotay had told you anything. He didn't tell me much of anything."

"I'm sure he was just trying to protect you."

"Yeah, it doesn't make it right, though."

"No, but he does love you. It was obvious during those video calls."

Kathryn raised a brow, "You saw him one or twice in those calls."

"Yeah, and the whole time he looked at you like you were the only woman in the world. And you, sister dear, couldn't keep your hands off him. And you smiled. A lot."

Later that evening after having had that bath and nap, Kathryn went to Tom and B'Elanna's.

She cooed over Miral, "Hello, sweet girl."

"She's sweet now, but you should hear her when she's hungry."

Kathryn grinned, "Maybe she misses Tom."

"Probably, we usually take turns feeding her."

B'Elanna gestured toward a swing, Kathryn put Miral in it and gently started to swing it.

"How are you doing?" B'Elanna asked.

"I'm mad. He should've told me everything."

"Yeah, I suppose it's good to get this out of the way now, though."

"How so?"

"It's the first real big problem you've been thrown in your marriage. Once you two talk it out and make amends, which I know you will, everything else is going to seem trivial in comparison. Tom and I had our share of disagreements after we got married, but looking back, they were petty little things. It wasn't until I found out I was pregnant that we had a real problem. Obviously, the circumstances are quite different, but I get where he's coming from. You get so blindsided by fear and love that you don't think straight."

Kathryn pondered over the statement.

It was nearly a month and a half later now. What was hoped to be a quick rescue mission was turning into a dragged out game of Catch Me if You Can.

The plan had been to get caught, and narrowly beam off the shuttle onto the Cube. They would have have to evade drones long enough for the shuttle to begin being assimilated. They had infected the shuttle with a virus that had been adapted from the one Icheb had carried. It would quickly take out drones and make its way to the queen. It would act swiftly enough that there would still be a shuttle to go back to.

But, upon arriving at the Cube, they were simply ignored. Tuvok surmised this was due to the fact that Admiral Janeway was not with them and they did not pose a significant threat. Unfortunately, the Borg now knew that someone was taking the matter seriously.

They were going to have to force their way onto the Cube, but the fact was the shuttle just didn't have the fire power to get through the shields.

Tom rubbed at his eyes, "We're going to have to go back to the Andraaxi."

"What purpose would that serve?" Tuvok asked, "They have already informed us that they are unwilling to get involved with anything concerning the Borg."

"What else are we going to do, Tuvok? We've already been out here seven weeks and we have nothing!"

"They're the closest ally, we're just going to have to convince them to help us," Chakotay said.

"How do you plan to do that?" Tuvok asked.

"I have no idea."

"Maybe we won't have to," Tom said suddenly.

"What is it?"

"We're receiving an encrypted message from them. They're on their way."


	14. Chapter 14

When the Andraaxi arrived they hailed the shuttle and asked to speak to Chakotay privately. Since a transport could alert the Borg to the presence of the Andraaxi, they spoke over the encrypted comm line.

While the shuttle was fairly small, it did have a separate room in the back with four bunks. Tom and Tuvok excused themselves to the room, where Tom opted to have a slice of pizza.

The Hateel looked at Chakotay, "Hateel of Voyager, I have brought the Andraaxi Fleet to help."

"May I ask what changed your mind?"

The Hateel actually looked uncomfortable, perhaps embarrassed. "When you first sought our assistance you alluded to the fact that Hateela of Voyager had since become with child. Not long after you returned to your quadrant, the Hateela of Andraaxia likewise find out she is also with child. My decision not to help was based on that fact. The Hateela was vehement. She called it selfish to deny you help out of fear for her and our child's life when we have the ability to conceal ourselves."

The words "selfish," and "conceal" rang in Chakotay's head. The longer they were away, and the more time he had to think about it, the more he felt he'd cheated Kathryn by not telling exactly what was going on.

Hearing that the Hateel's own wife had called the Hateel out for allowing his fear to cloud his judgment cemented the feeling he'd been wrong.

The Andraaxi had the ability to conceal themselves. Chakotay knew this and yet, hadn't thought about it after speaking to Admiral Paris. Kathryn could've come. She could've stayed on Andraaxia.

He cursed himself for his narrow mindedness. This whole thing could've been long over with if he'd just told her the whole truth. Instead, he'd condemned himself, Tom, and Tuvok to the long trip they'd taken.

He'd missed the last seven weeks of Kathryn's pregnancy, and Tom the last seven weeks of watching his daughter grow. He wasn't sure which to be more angry with himself about.

Although Tom didn't mind being able to catch up on uninterrupted sleep, it was obvious each day how much he missed B'Elanna and Miral.

He was going to spend the rest of his life making up for this blunder, and he hated to admit there would likely be others.

Over the next two days, the Andraaxi studied the shield configurations of the Cube, and even located Seven. They wouldn't be able to beam her out, as she was in an isolation chamber. But, once the isolation field surrounding her was disabled, they would be able to do so with ease.

They managed to find an area of the Cube that was barely populated. The Andraaxi would have to target the shield generator, after that was disabled they would be able transport Chakotay and Tuvok to an area just outside the isolation chamber. Tom would have to quickly pilot the shuttle into the Cube and connect the shuttle to an assimilation node long enough to upload the virus.

The attack took the Borg by surprise. It took several volleys, but the Andraaxi were able to take out the generator. The Borg struggled to counter the unfamiliar technology, and while distracted, Tom flew the shuttle into Cube.

Armed with phaser rifles that were adapted with specifications from the Andraaxi, Chakotay and Tuvok beamed to the area outside of the isolation chamber. Tuvok looked around the eerie room. It wouldn't be long before drones began flooding the area.

Tom armed with his own rifle, made quick work of finding the node and beginning the upload. It was no wonder why this area of the Cube had been so sparsely populated. From what Tom could tell, this appeared to be the spare parts depot. Mutilated corpses of drones littered the area, their bodies stripped of components.

The sight alone was enough to make a man sick, and the faint scent of death didn't help. For now, Tom would focus on getting the virus uploaded while the Andraaxi kept the Borg occupied.

Chakotay fussed with the control panel to disable the isolation chamber, which appeared to be some sort of statis unit. Tuvok began shooting at drones. Three quick and successive shots at each to prevent the personal shields of the drones from adapting. It worked and drones began to fall.

After a couple minutes, the virus began taking effect, with some of the drones becoming disoriented.

Chakotay looked at the panel, "Ah, screw it!" He smashed the butt of the rifle into it, sending sparks flying. The seal of the chamber hissed.

"Tuvok!" he called, "help me open this."

Tuvok fired a few more shots before going to assist Chakotay. They pulled Seven's limp body from the chamber, and Tuvok picked her up.

Beyond Tuvok, Chakotay saw one last drone approaching. He'd never formally met her, but even under all the Borg components, he recognized her as Covington. It didn't surprise him to see she'd been assimilated. As the virus continued to have is effect, it only took two shots to take her down. They shimmered away in a transport beam onto the Andraaxi ship, where two doctors quickly relieved Tuvok.

On the bridge, they could see the shuttle flying out of the Cube while explosions peppered the Cube. "Lock on the shuttle, and take us out of here," the Hateel said, "the Cube's self- destruct has been activated."

The helmsman obeyed. "Can you confirm there is no Borg presence on the shuttle?" the Hateel asked.

"Yes, sir," the helmsman answered.

"Good, bring it on board and take us back to Andraaxia." He turned to Chakotay and put his hand on his shoulder, "Congratulations, Hateel of Voyager, you have got what you came for. I am only sorry it took me so long to come."

Chakotay put his own hand on the Hateel's shoulder, "But you did, and that's what matters."

Later that evening, they relayed a message to DS9 that Captain Sisko promptly sent to Kathryn.

She read it.

WE'RE COMING HOME.


	15. Chapter 15

Seven sat a the bed in the Andraaxi medical facility. She didn't remember much, she had been sedated for much of the time, and quickly put in isolation.

"Do you have any idea what Covington's motivates were?" Chakotay asked.

She thought for a moment, "She appeared to be mentally unstable. I believe she was under the impression that she would be made into the next Queen."

Tuvok raised an eyebrow. "Wait a minute," Tom said, "why assimilate her if she was unstable?"

"Covington was in charge of special ops," Chakotay interjected.

"Correct," Seven replied, "the knowledge she possessed could provide the Borg with tactical advantages future, and her instability would not have affected her ability to function as a drone."

"Great," Tom muttered, "you don't think we've seen the last of them."

"Unlikely," she replied, "the virus acted quickly, however, it would only have affected Cubes and spheres in close enough proximity to the Queen's Cube. I believe you took out a considerable portion, but the Queen self-destructed before it could reach the rest of the Collective. There will be a new Queen."

Chakotay sighed, "Well, let's hope we don't hear from them for a long time."

Chakotay sat in the courtyard. It felt strange to be there without Kathryn. He turned when he heard footsteps. He was surprised to see the Hateela approaching, and stood from his chair.

She smiled and nodded, "Whatever you did, she will forgive you."

"How-"

"One of the reasons we're adept at knowing fact from fiction is that we an empathic species, and right now I feel guilt and fear from you."

He should've known. When they first came to the planet and the Hateela had shown Chakotay and Kathryn their rooms, she had made a comment about how she could see how much they loved each other. She never explicitly said anything to indicate one way or the other, but there was something in the way she'd said that had made him think there was a bit more to it. She didn't hide that either, but he'd quickly forgotten about it after making his comment.

"I made a unilateral decision. I was hoping it would be resolved before she ever had to find out."

"And you fear she will condemn you now that she knows?"

"It took us a long time to get to where we were. I don't want to lose that."

"No one wishes to lose what they love. You made a mistake, I believe she will understand that."

Early the next morning, they went back to DS9. After being cleared by Dr. Bashir and Odo, they were allowed to leave for earth.

When they reached earth they were immediately sent to Admiral Paris to discuss how things went. It was tedious and boring seeing as much of their time was spent in that shuttle.

Finally, they were done. Chakotay stuck around a moment, "What can I expect?"

"Oh, she's mad."

"That doesn't make me feel any better."

The Admiral shrugged, "Never said it was supposed to."

Chakotay left the office and went to the transporter. On one hand, he quite nervous about how she would receive him, but on the other, he was dying just to hold her again.

He opened the door and was hit with a familiar smell. Caramel brownies. Well, that was something to look forward to. He heard some puttering in the kitchen and expected to see Gretchen making brownies, but when he turned the corner, he saw Kathryn making the brownies herself.

She turned to grab something off the island and saw him. "You're home."

Chakotay didn't really hear her though, he was too busy being gobsmacked by her now very noticeable belly. When he left, her belly had still been flat. His mouth gaped, and with a knowing smirk she went up to him and grabbed his hand.

"Let's go talk."

She led him to the living room.

"You-you're-"

"Undeniably pregnant, you've missed a lot," she said.

He bit his lips and sat down on the couch.

"You missed my first appointment with the Doctor. You missed their first holo-projection. You missed finding out what they are."

She sat down next to him, "Chakotay, I know I didn't always tell you everything on Voyager, but that was different. That was the Captain and Commander who weren't in a relationship. This is you and me now. Not the Captain and Commander, and not the Admiral and Captain. We're a team, and we can't function if we don't tell each other everything. It doesn't matter who we are. I know why you did it, I understand why, but Chakotay you have trust me to know my limitations. You have to trust me when I say I will never do anything to endanger our children. I may not be able to tell you everything when it comes to Starfleet, but when it comes to us and our family, including extended, I will tell you everything. I need you to promise to do the same."

He looked at her and nodded.

"Say it."

"I promise."

She leaned in and kissed him, "Welcome home."

A/N: All right! Take your guesses, what are the genders? It will be revealed in the next chapter.


	16. Chapter 16

Chakotay sat at the kitchen island looking at all the brownies. There were four batches, and Kathryn had just put the fifth, and final batch in the oven.

He scratched his head, "Do I dare ask why you're baking and why you're not just using the replicator?"

"Mom got sick of me waking her up at all hours for real home made brownies. She gave me a crash course in brownie baking 101. Took a few tries, but I've got the recipe down now."

He picked one of the brownies up and sampled it. He smiled appreciatively, "Well, I never thought I'd see the day when the great Kathryn Janeway baked. These are good."

"The great Kathryn Janeway is still on extended leave, pregnant, and needed something to occupy her time. She also expects daily back rubs and foot rubs now that her husband is home."

He smiled, "I can do that. What else can I do?"

"You could make those cradles. I made a slight change in your designs."

"I'll go take a look at them," he said, rising.

He pulled up the designs. He'd opted for a traditional rocking cradle design. He noticed that at the head of each cradle, Kathryn had inserted a cut out. On one cradle it was a star, and on the other a crescent moon.

"I figure we'll probably need someway to tell them apart," Kathryn said from the doorway, "so one'll be our little star, and the other will be our little moon."

He looked up and smiled, "I love it."

He set the plans down, "You said you got a holo-projection. Can I see it?"

She nodded, "Yeah, I got a few. They're upstairs in the bedroom."

He followed her to the bedroom and looked in awe at the projections. They were so tiny, but he could clearly see toes and fingers.

"They're amazing. I'm so sorry I missed this."

She rubbed his shoulder, "Well, at least I can have some fun with this." She took the projector from him and turned it off. "There is one last projection, it's the most recent. It also shows what they are."

"You're not just going to show it to me?" he asked.

She shook her head and folded her arms above her belly, "Nope, you'll have to work for it."

"All right, what do I have to do?"

"Actually, I'd be really grateful if you would get the brownies out of the oven and then come back and give me a foot rub."

He came back a few minutes later, and even brought a few brownies. After rubbing her feet, she'd told him to go take a look at the nursery.

"The nursery? You have it set up already?"

"Not exactly," she replied, "mom and Phoebe insisted on going on a little shopping spree a couple weeks ago. B'Elanna even got in on it."

"So, what am I going to find in there?"

"Actually, you'll be able to figure out what they are in there."

He didn't waste time going down the hall to the nursery. He really wasn't sure what to expect when he opened the door, but it wasn't this. The room was painted a light yellow, and in the corner was a rocking chair with a few stuffed animals on it. He even saw a stuffed targ.

There were two dressers, one of which could double as a changing table. There were a few boxes with general necessities, diapers, pacifiers, and the like, but nothing that screamed, IT'S BOYS or, IT'S GIRLS, or even that it was one of each.

Chakotay was confused. He walked back into the bedroom scratching his head, "Uh, Kathryn, I thought you said I'd find out what they are."

She nibbled on a brownie, "Didn't you look around?"

"Of course," he answered.

"You didn't look in the dresser or closet, though, did you?"

"Uh, no," he said slowly. Honestly, the thought hadn't even occurred to him. Kathryn was only three and a half months pregnant, it just seemed so soon to have clothes, much less diapers, and a partially completed nursery. Then again, he had eagerly started designing the cradles just after she told him.

He went back down the hall and opened one of the dressers. One of first things he saw was a purple onesie, in pink sparkly letters it said DADDY'S GIRL. He laughed, and held the onesie as he walked to the other dresser. Opening the drawer, he was greeted by a white onesies with flowers on it. He looked through the rest of the drawers and found a few more onesies, even some tiny pants and shirts, and the smallest socks he'd ever seen.

He opened the closet door. Inside were some of the tiniest dresses he'd ever seen.

Kathryn came in the room, "Phoebe grabbed a couple of hideously frilly dresses, but I managed to get her to put them back."

He laughed, and even realized his eyes were wet.

"Happy?" she asked.

"Incredibly," he answered, hugging and kissing her.

He was going to have two little girls, and he couldn't wait.

A/N: If you want to know what the cradles look like, you can check it out at etsy. com, in woodpeckerFORESTkids sold items. It's the wooden doll cradle, which obviously is going to be too small, so the dimensions that would've been used are 36" X 18", so imagine that rather than the 18" X 11" doll size.

Also, if you want, you can try to guess what the names will be. I've chosen pretty specific names though, so I don't think anyone is going to get them, but you might be able to guess one. ;)


	17. Chapter 17

The next five weeks passed relatively quickly. Chakotay started building the cradles, though he decided to take his time making them. He debated whether to make cribs, too, but decided not to.

Their psych evaluations had been completed, and since Voyager was still receiving maintenance, they'd both accepted teaching positions at the Academy. Kathryn had spoken to Admiral Paris about what would happen to Voyager once maintenance was complete.

Since she was no longer a captain, Chakotay would become the Captain of Voyager. When ready they would go back to Andraaxia and establish a formal diplomatic relationship. It would be some time before Voyager was ready, however. They estimated at least December. That suited Kathryn, the twins would be a few months old by then.

In the meantime, Neelix had been contacted and was now serving as Ambassador.

Classes came together, and in each Kathryn and Chakotay spotted a few students who were meek like Harry, rough around the edges like B'Elanna, and mischievous like Tom. Every cadet had promise, though there were those who reminded her of Tal Celes, Mortimer Harren, and Billy Tefler.

She made sure to seek those ones out and encourage them, even assure a couple that it was all right if they wanted to do something other than Starfleet.

One night when she was twenty-two weeks she felt the first telltale sign that her belly wasn't just the result of her cravings for caramel brownies. She had been laying on her side facing away from Chakotay and dozing off.

She wasn't entirely sure what it was, but the Doctor had told her she could expect to begin feeling movement sometime between sixteen and twenty-five weeks. After the third time, she turned over to face Chakotay.

He was sitting up in bed reading a book series one of his students had recommended, it was called Lord of the Rings.

"Chakotay," she said softly, and reached for his hand. She placed it on her belly. At first, he didn't feel anything, but then there it was. A faint thump.

His brows rose in surprise, "Was that-?"

Kathryn nodded with a huge smile. Maybe he'd miss the first few milestones, but this was one Chakotay thanked his lucky stars for being there for. He fell asleep that night with his hand still on her belly.

A month and half later, Chakotay was working in the nursery, when Kathryn called him from the bathroom. She sounded amused, which he was glad for. The Doctor had assured them that everything was going smoothly, but that didn't mean something couldn't happen.

She was thirty weeks now, and officially on maternity leave. He entered the bathroom to see Kathryn in the tub snickering. "What is it?"

She waved him over, "Look at this." He knelt down next to the tub and watched a ripple suddenly emanate from Kathryn's belly.

He watched a couple more. Kathryn was laughing. "Is that what I think it is?" he asked.

"Yeah, somebody has the hiccups."

He chuckled, and watched a few more ripples. "You know, I've meaning to ask if you've given any thoughts to names," he said, "these two should be here in about six weeks."

"Chakotay," she said, "I have been thinking about names since I find out about the twins."

"Got any favorites?"

"Well, there's always Shannon, but I was actually thinking of a couple other names. What about you?"

"I've got a few in mind, but I think I need to see them first before I really know."

"Yeah, that's what I'm thinking."

They sat for a few more minutes talking about possible names, but none of the names seemed right to them. They stopped when Kathryn realized she was getting hungry.

Chakotay helped her out of the tub and followed her downstairs. He was hungry, too.

"What do you want to eat?" he asked.

"Macaroni and cheese, followed by caramel brownies."

He shook his head, "Should've known. At least your cravings are for things I can enjoy, too, and not pickles and ice cream."

"Hmm," she said, "I hadn't thought about that one. I might have to give it a try to see if it's any good."

He grimaced, "Should've kept my mouth shut."

A/N: Fun fact~the hiccups in the tub bit is based on a similar experience my mom had when she pregnant with my eldest brother.


	18. Chapter 18

Two weeks later was a surprise baby shower. Even Chakotay was unaware. The party was kept small, consisting of all of Voyager's Senior Staff, and a few of the crew, like Tal, Billy, Sam, and Naomi. Of course, the Doctor had insisted on being there to keep an eye on Kathryn.

Kathryn was quite happy to see Miral, as well, and pleasantly surprised to see Harry's parents, Chakotay had been at first, too. But not long after finishing the cradles he'd showed them to Tom and mentioned that he was thinking of doing cribs as well.

Tom's response had been not to worry about it. It was great that Chakotay wanted to make these things, but cribs would take a significantly longer time to make. That was time he should spend with Kathryn. The babies would be more than happy with their cradles, and though he may've felt a need to make up being absent for several weeks to the twins, it wasn't the twins who needed making up to. It was Kathryn that needed it most.

Chakotay had agreed, and now that he thought about, he vaguely remembered something about the Kim's owning an antique furniture business. His hunch had been correct. A few months after Voyager returned, Mr. Kim had acquired two matching cribs from an estate. Normally, he would've just seen to any necessary refurbishing, and then sold them in his store. But after seeing them for the first time he knew his wife would agree that they should go to Kathryn and Chakotay. These were after all, the people that brought Harry home.

They were gorgeous, with beautiful beading, ornate carvings and a natural finish. Best of all, they were convertible. When the girls were toddlers, it could be converted to a toddler bed, and then a day bed, and then a full size bed after that. These would last them to adulthood and beyond.

Phoebe gifted her sister with a painting of Voyager soaring past a nebula. Afterwards, Gretchen brought out the cake. It was covered in a layer of lavender fondant with swirls of fondant in various shades of purple.

On top of it were two purple flowers also made of fondant. Phoebe was quite proud of it as she had done the decorations.

"Phoebe," Kathryn said, "I thought you hated baking."

"I do," Phoebe answered, "I didn't bake the cake. Mom did. I've just been exploring cake decorating as an art form."

"Ahh, that makes more sense. What kind of cake is it?"

"Vanilla with a chocolate mousse layer," Gretchen answered, handing Kathryn a slice.

The next few weeks were uneventful, though the Doctor predicted that Kathryn would likely deliver somewhere around thirty-six weeks, as that was common with multiples.

He noted that baby B had turned, while baby A remained upright. That could change, they would just have to wait.

Kathryn woke one night in need of the bathroom. While she washed her hands she began to feel a trickle down her leg. "Aww, come on, it's two o'clock in the morning," she muttered, "I was hoping for some sleep."

She called Chakotay, who wandered into the bathroom rubbing his eyes, "What is it?"

She pointed at the puddle at her feet. "Huh," he said clearly not awake, "I thought that only happened in those old holomovies of Tom's." He turned to go back to bed as Kathryn watched incredulously. 'You've got to be kidding,' she thought. She picked up a rolled towel and threw it at Chakotay's head.

Obviously, this woke him because he turned around and realization finally dawned on his face. Looking back, he wished he could say he'd been one of those expectant fathers who'd stayed calm, but he'd become completely flustered.

He went about the house trying to make sure everything was ready. Meanwhile, Kathryn made her way to a padded bench in the hallway and waited for him to pass again. When he did she grabbed him and told him to calm down. Her contractions weren't bad, and she hadn't realized she was having any until her water broke.

He calmed down enough to call the Doctor, who advised them to head to their medical center. The Doctor would meet them there.

By the time the Doctor got there, the contractions had definitely picked up in frequency and intensity. The Doctor examined her. Kathryn wasn't too thrilled to find that baby A remained in a breech position, but the Doctor assured her it would be all right.

Kathryn held out as long as possible before accepting whatever the wonderful drug was that took away the pain. She could still feel the contractions, they just didn't hurt now. Chakotay wished he could've had some, he wasn't sure, but he suspected Kathryn had broken a couple bones during that last contraction.

It took a few pushes, but baby A did eventually come out butt first. The Doctor handed her off to a nurse and cut the umbilical. The nurse cleaned the baby and weighed her, announcing that she weighed in at six pounds even, and twenty inches long.

Baby B waited a few minutes, but soon rejoined her sister. She turned out to be a bit smaller at five pounds, eight ounces, and nineteen inches.

Chakotay held their firstborn, and Kathryn, their second. "So, what are we going to name these two?" she asked.

Chakotay looked at the baby in his arms, "Well, this one is obviously going to be as stubborn as you, and contrary as me, so I was thinking Imala."

"It's beautiful, what's it mean?"

"Strong-minded."

Kathryn let out a laugh, "Okay, Imala Selene."

"After the Andraaxi Hateela?" Chakotay asked.

"Not exactly," she answered, "when I was researching names, I found out that on Earth, Selene is Greek for moon. She did come out "moon" first, so I think that makes her our little stubborn moon. But, what about this one?" Kathryn looked at the little girl. She and her sister had relatively light hair now, with a tinge of red, but it would darken as they got older.

"Ayasha Elanor," Chakotay said, "Ayasha means little one, and well, I got Elanor from the books I've been reading, it means star in them, or light in Greek."

"All right," Kathryn said, "Imala Selene and Ayasha Elanor it is."

Clearing his throat the Doctor said, "Well, I was going to ask what to put in the records, but I guess I don't need to." He turned to leave.

"Doctor, wait," Kathryn said, "what's today?"

"Stardate 55612.5."

"No, no," Chakotay clarified, "just the date."

"Oh, August twelfth."

A/N: I was on a roll with this chapter, so I kept going. Imala is pronounced Ih-mal-uh, pretty much the way it's spelled. Ayasha, I believe is technically pronounced ay-ee-shuh, but my personal preference is just ay-shuh. Also, there will be an epilogue! Oh, yes, and if you'd like to see what the cribs look like, you can find it on the Wal-Mart website, it's the Julienne 5-in-1 by Evolur.


	19. Epilogue

Epilogue

Phoebe looked at her nieces. They were swaddled and sleeping peacefully. She would've loved to hold one, but didn't dare risk waking either of them.

"They're adorable," she said, "when can you take them home?"

"Tomorrow actually," Kathryn answered, "they're doing well, so the Doctor didn't see any reason to keep them."

"Wait till they see that nursery. You put the Voyager painting in there, right?"

"Mm-hmm, they'll be able to look at it every night before they go to sleep."

Phoebe smiled, "Okay, you'll have to tell me their names. I couldn't understand much more than, 'Katie had the babies,' when mom called."

"That's Ayasha Elanor on the right, and Imala Selene on the left."

"Those are pretty. Although, I'm curious, did Imala get chosen because you can call her Molly?"

Kathryn let out a laugh, "No, Chakotay chose it. I suppose we could call her Molly, I really do like Imala, though."

The next few days saw a flurry of visitors, all of whom were immediately enchanted by the little girls.

Over the months, Imala did prove that she was stubborn, rarely wanting to be held by anyone other than Kathryn or Chakotay. Her only exception seemed to be Phoebe. Both girls were fairly good babies, although, like all babies, they had their moments.

They were usually sweet and smiled often, but during a visit with the Doctor for their first vaccinations, they made it known that they were capable of raising Cain. Ayasha had been first to receive her vaccinations, and was unfazed by the experience. Imala, however, proved to much more like her mother, and made her displeasure clear. Ayasha followed suit once her sister became fussy. Both girls remained fussy until after the visit was over. They giggled at each other's antics, and comforted the other when something was wrong.

As December approached, Kathryn debated whether they could take the girls to Andraaxia. At the moment, things were calm in the Gamma Quadrant, but the Andraaxi still wished for the Gateway to remain unknown, so they would continue to receive escorts.

However, in time, they would be willing to share their stealth technology, a device called the Shroud, with ships coming to Andraaxia on diplomatic business. The first ship to be outfitted with the technology would be Voyager.

With that in mind, the girls were cleared to accompany their parents, as was Phoebe. It was an odd request, as Phoebe was an independent family member, and not part of Starfleet. But she had arranged to be the official guardian of the girls while Kathryn and Chakotay established diplomatic relations.

They were welcomed back to Andraaxia with open arms. The Hateel and Hateela were pleased to meet Phoebe, and the girls, all of whom found themselves charmed by the new Hateeli who had been named Ixaka.

After the initial welcome back, they were lead to their rooms, which happened to be the same ones they'd stayed in on their first visit to Andraaxia. After meeting the Hateeli, Phoebe couldn't help herself and quipped, "Well, now I need a nephew."

"Phoebe!" Kathryn admonished, "Don't give me ideas!"

Phoebe looked at her with a straight face, "I don't need to give you ideas, Katie. You already have them."

Sometimes Phoebe could infuriatingly correct, but Kathryn wanted to wait a little while before having anymore children, and Chakotay agreed.

After returning to their room one night, they saw that Phoebe had kept the girls in her room. Chakotay picked up a card from her and read. He smiled, "You know what today is, right?"

"Of course," Kathryn answered, "it's December eighteenth."

"Sure is," he said, coming up behind her and wrapping his arms around her waist.

She turned around and kissed him, "Happy Anniversary."

They spent the night together, only this time, they avoided the fruit.

THE END

A/N: Thanks for all the reviews! I'm glad you guys liked it. I might do a sequel, I might not, I don't have a story line in mind right now, though. I might go back to the Contrary universe, though and explain how Voyager got home in that universe and how Janeway and Chakotay got together. If you haven't checked those stories out yet, go right ahead. Until next time. :)

Ixaka~Hebrew, child of laughter.


End file.
